Missouri Valley: LAND OF THE BIG MUDDY

On the heights of the Continental Divide the first snow is falling. Soon
the snow packs will form, and a thousand rivulets, streaming down to
the outstretched finger rivers of the Missouri, will freeze over.
Across the lonely badlands and treeless plains, the rain is mild and
gentle, and the Big Muddy and its tributaries are snug in their beds.
In Iowa and Nebraska, in Montana and the Dakotas, all but the latest
crops are in. For the farmers and ranchers of the Missouri Valley, one
year of risk and struggle is ending, another...